My friend Steve once told me while drunk about his keen sense of navigation. “I get it from my mum”, he said. “She had a really bad sense of direction, but she could run really fast. So basically, I just keep running until I see somewhere I recognise.” That same night he ran halfway to […]

My time in Singapore couldn’t have finished in much a better way. As a special treat, Alan took me over to the Penny Black, a Victorian-style English pub, with real ale from the tap which was bested only by the plasma screens showing Liverpool and Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final live. The pub turns into the […]

I’ve got a joke for you: Q) What do you call a guy who injures his back playing tennis during a short vacation, subsequently spending 2 of his 5 days in bed barely able to move? A) Lots of things. None of them polite. Yes, I am that idiot. I played a few sets with […]

Continuing the theme of appreciating food, lunch today was at a fantastic Indian place called Samy’s. Five types of gorgeous and hot, genuine Indian curry, with fresh-squeezed lime juice to wash it down. Brilliantly, it was all served on banana leaves instead of plates, just like some miso dishes are served on leaves in Japan. […]

And so, to leaving. It’s still hard to believe I don’t live in Japan anymore. I’m writing this from Singapore, where I’m staying for a few days with my cousin Alan, his wife Aneta and his kids Sarah and Stephanie. I was lucky enough to be seen off at the airport today by three of […]

Despite my various recent excursions around the local area, I’ve still somehow found time to do the important things too. Cancelling things is always a pain, but it hits new heights, bordering on excruciating, when trying to do it in Japan. What with gas, electricity, phone, bank transfers and posting stuff, it’s a wonder that […]

Magome is a small town in the mountains on the border of Gifu and Nagano prefectures that sits on the old Tokaido route which was heavily used in the Edo period. It was originally built as one of a number of rest posts for weary travellers making the long and dangerous journey from Kyoto to […]